


Special Assignment

by orphan_account



Category: A-Team (TV)
Genre: Angst, Early Work, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-30
Updated: 2011-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-28 12:11:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/307744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy faces perhaps her most challenging assignment ever...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Special Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first piece of fan-fiction I ever wrote (wrote and finished, at least), published originally in the 'zine Plans Scams & Vans #1 in 1995.
> 
> The following story is written entirely for fun and not for any profit. No attempt is made to supersede or infringe upon the copyrights held by any television or film companies upon which this story is based.

#  Part One  


"Another good job guys," Hannibal said, striking up a fresh cigar. The Colonel, B.A., Face, Murdock and Amy were sharing a booth in the back of a small L. A. diner, where the team had just said good-bye to their last client.

"Yeah man," B.A. agreed after downing half of his glass of milk in one large gulp. "We sure fixed that dude Mitchell's operation for good. Another crooked politician bites the dust!"

"True," said Face, "but what's good for the general public isn't necessarily good for our wallets. Hannibal, I've said it before and I'll say it again--these charity jobs are killing my budget calculations for us for this year! I'm barely able to keep up the contributions to our retirement plan, not to mention what its done for my lifestyle. I mean, really..."

"What's the matter Face? Can't keep up in the Armani suits anymore?" Amy quipped.

"Just remember, you've got an open invitation to come stay with me Face, if you're runnin' low on dough," Murdock said. "I've thought it over, and I could just say you were one of my new imaginary friends and nobody'd suspect a thing--believe me!"

"Thanks for the offer Murdock, but I think I'll manage. Let's just hope our next client actually pays us with more than gratitude, OK?"

The burgers they had ordered finally arrived, and the group fell momentarily silent while everyone was preoccupied with their food, except Amy. She looked around at her friends, the four men that had become such an important part of her life. Nervously, and with more than just a little regret she resolved herself that it was time to bring up what she'd been avoiding mentioning or even thinking much about for the past few days. She couldn't put it off any longer.

"Guys, um...there's something I need to talk to you all about."

"Sure kiddo, what's up?" Hannibal asked.

"Well, um...it's good news. Sort of, I guess," she stammered. She took a deep breath and started over. "Anyway, last week, my editor called me in for a big meeting. He wanted to tell me that he's been real impressed with all the great stories I've been bringing in lately, that I've become a real asset to the paper. So...well, as a result of that he offered me a special assignment."

"That's wonderful Amy," Face responded with his typical charm. "I've always thought you were destined for greatness. What's the assignment?"

"Foreign corespondent."

The guys all looked up at her, but no one said anything. Surprise was evident on all of their faces, even the normally unflappable Colonel. "As a journalist, I should be absolutely thrilled--I mean, career-wise, this is a fantastic opportunity," she argued, as much to herself as to the Team. "It's a chance to really do some important work, and earn some real respect in the field. But..." she paused, gazing around at her friends, "it's not gonna be easy leaving you guys. This has been a real...experience, to say the least. And I don't know if I'm ready to give it all up quite yet."

"We'd miss having you around, Allen," Hannibal finally said. "Maybe we've been kinda tough on you sometimes, but that's just part of the game, you know that. You've proven yourself to be a valuable associate on more than a few occasions."

"Hannibal's right," B.A. added, his voice a little less gruff than usual. "You're one of us now Amy."

"I know. And I really appreciate that, believe me. In fact, I would have turned down the offer flat out, except for one thing--Decker. I get the feeling he isn't going to keep buying my 'freedom-of-the-press, innocent-little-reporter' act that much longer."

"Especially after you showed up posing as my wife last month," Face said.

"You mean 'Joe Morgan's' wife," she corrected, and smiled. "But that's what I'm talking about. He's gonna start to come down hard on me soon, which is why I think it would be best for me to clear out, at least for a while. For my sake--and, for yours. Especially for yours. I don't want to become a liability to the team."

Hannibal seemed to be studying her remarks quite closely, and he nodded in agreement after a few moments. "Understood," he said. "And, appreciated."

"When are you leaving, Amy?" Murdock asked.

She felt a sharp pang of guilt at the question. "Well, I haven't exactly agreed to take the assignment yet. But, I know my editor wanted me to start as soon as possible, if I did accept. It would probably take me a few weeks to get all my affairs in order before I could leave, find someone to take care of my place while I'm gone, that kind of stuff."

"Well, when you decide for sure, let us know," Hannibal said. "And remember, Amy, nothing about the future has to be set in stone. You'll always have a place here with us, if you want it."

"Thanks Hannibal," Amy replied, fighting back the tears she felt starting to burn her eyes. Come on kid, be tough." I think I know what I have to do."

They finished eating, mostly in a rather uncomfortable silence. It was obvious Amy's news had come as a surprise to the guys. It was getting near nine o'clock, and after the bill had been settled Hannibal stood up and fished though his coat pocket for some change to leave on the table. "Guess that's a wrap for today. What's everyone's game plan from here?"

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I have a date," said Face, straightening out his jacket and reflexively fixing his tie. "Yes, a little drive along the coast with a lovely young starlet I happened to meet the other day..." he finished with a sigh.

"Sure sounds like a plan to me, Lieutenant," Hannibal remarked. "B.A., can you give me a lift?"

"Sure man. I'm just headin' home myself."

"Great. Amy, can you take Murdock back to the V. A.?" She usually did most days, considering she lived the closest to the hospital.

"No problem, Hannibal," she said. She knew she had a lot to talk to the Captain about anyway.

* * *

Amy focused on her driving, feeling the knot in her stomach growing tighter as each silent moment passed. She had hoped that he would say something, anything, right now, because she just didn't know where to start herself. But Murdock just sat there, staring out the side window, unmoving.

After nearly ten minutes of complete silence, Amy couldn't take it anymore.

"Murdock, I'm sorry, I wanted to say something to you earlier--"

"Then why didn't you, huh?" he snapped, and she flinched at the sharp tone in his voice. She knew it took a lot to get Murdock really angry or upset, or at least to express it openly. And right now he was positively fuming.

"How could you just drop that on me, Amy? Did you think at all about what that would do to me? Or, maybe, you don't care how I feel..."

"Murdock, of course I care! Look, this whole thing only came up right before I got the call from Hannibal for this mission. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I didn't have any time alone with you this whole job. When could I have brought it up?" She turned to look at him, but he was still just gazing out the window. "But we're alone now, Murdock, so let's talk about it, all right?"

He laughed. "What's the point? You, you've already made up your mind, you're gonna take this assignment and there's nothin' I can say to change your mind. Am I right?"

Amy didn't say anything. He was right, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it.

She heard Murdock let out a long sigh. "I thought so," he said, sinking down into his seat, and they slipped back into silence.

When they were just a few minutes away from the hospital--or Amy's house, depending on which route she took--Murdock sat up a bit.

"You might as well just take me back to the V.A. tonight, Amy."

"You sure?" Amy asked. For the past few months, that hadn't been their usual procedure.

"Mm hmm..." he mumbled.

Shortly thereafter they pulled up across the street from the V.A. Hospital entrance. "Well, here we are," Amy said.

"Yup." Murdock's initial anger was beginning to fade, leaving an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Part of him wanted to sprint as fast as possible to the calm serenity of the hospital, but something else wouldn't let him move. As upset as he was, he didn't want things to end like this.

Paralyzed in his seat by indecision, he finally turned to face her. She looked into his large brown eyes, usually so bright and warm but right now filled with anguish.

"I'm...really going to miss you Amy."

"I know." She reached out to brush his cheek with her fingertips. "I'm really going to miss you too...you crazy nut."

The remark brought a feint smile to his lips, and she saw a little of that familiar gleam come back into his eyes. "My crazy nut," she added, as she pulled him closer and kissed him softly, a kiss that turned into a lingering embrace, and then another longer, sweeter kiss.

Amy titled her head back slightly to look into his eyes and playfully tugged at the rim of his baseball cap. "Are you sure you don't want to go somewhere else tonight?"

Sitting there, holding her tightly, having her so close to him, he knew that the last place he wanted to go at that moment was his room at the V.A. "Hmmm...well, come to think of it, I did already miss the Monday night movie in the rec room. So, maybe I could be persuaded to make a change of plans..."

* * *

"Please?"

"Murdock--"

"Pretty please?"

"Murdock!"

"OK OK OK...pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty please, with sugar and ice cream and mini-marshmallows and candy bars and gummy bears and chili peppers on top?"

"MURDOCK!!"

"Sorry."

He had been trying to connive Amy to stay, but had run out of rational arguments. Since it looked like irrational arguments weren't going to work either, he gave up and went back to running his hand gently along the smooth skin of her back.

"Chili peppers, Murdock?"

"Well, you know, I thought you liked Mexican food."

She had to laugh. Murdock's unique logic never ceased to amuse her. She snuggled up a little closer to him, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat in her ear. Theirs had been a strange but wonderful affair from the start, the no-nonsense young reporter and the older-and certifiably crazy-pilot. If she had told any of her friends about it, they would have thought she was the crazy one. But after she had joined the team, it had not taken long for her to fall under Murdock's spell as they fast became friends, and then later lovers.

"I'm sorry I blew up at you earlier, baby. You know I don't wanna hold you back, keep you from becoming a world-famous writer or nothin'. I just wish it didn't mean you havin' to run off to the other side of the world...what's gonna happen to us? Is this it?"

"I don't know, Murdock, I don't know..."

It had all started out innocently enough, she remembered. Amy had initially found Murdock and his craziness bewildering and even a bit intimidating; she couldn't quite figure out why the other guys put up with him and wanted him along on most all of their jobs. Soon enough, though, she began to understand. His loyalty to the team was immeasurable, and he certainly was just about unstoppable once he got in the air. And, it seemed, his rather special view of the world sometimes came in handy--even if B.A. didn't always think so.

There was something about Murdock that made him an easy companion and confidant, someone Amy found she could talk to on a familiar level she couldn't usually reach with the others with their macho facades and tough-guy posturing. Murdock was always so open and direct, just like a little kid; it was next to impossible not to respond to him in kind. When she was scared or upset, or just felt a little down, he always seemed to sense it, and would quickly come up with some off-the-wall remark or new persona to try to raise her spirits. It rarely failed to work. Conversely, she could see how much it seemed to please him to see he could make her smile.

As she got to know Murdock better, she also began to sense some of the loneliness of his life at the hospital, which he would never of course have admitted to but was not too hard for those close to him to see. She suspected that was why the guys almost always made the point of going through the trouble to break him out of the V.A. to join them on a mission, even when it was a fairly straightforward job where they probably didn't need the extra hand. Hannibal had once off-handedly remarked to her how he wished he and the other guys could come by and visit Murdock regularly, but that was pretty much an impossibility considering their current predicament. So Amy had started dropping by the hospital to visit Murdock every so often herself on lunch breaks and weekends, bringing burgers and shakes from Hamburger Heaven or the occasional pepperoni pizza. They'd sit around outside on the V.A. grounds and chat about everything and nothing; Murdock seemed to enjoy the company and was never at a loss for words. Sometimes she would ask him to tell her about old missions the team had gone on, or their days together back in 'Nam. "Background research for her book," she'd always say. Murdock loved to tell stories and would always gladly oblige her requests, although how much he embellished the fact with fiction she could never tell for sure. Not that it really mattered to her anyway.

One day she had been feeling rather depressed about a romance that had gone sour the past weekend. She came by to see Murdock, hoping it might make her feel better. But she had no appetite for her take-out food and was only half listening to Murdock's tales of his latest adventures with the residents of C Ward.

"Hello...? Earth to Amy, Earth to Amy...Mayday! Mayday! Bbbzzzzt! I think we've lost contact--sir, I can't reach her over my communicator!" Murdock called loudly, trying to get her attention.

She finally looked up to see him giving her a concerned look. "What's the matter Amy, why so gloomy? What's eatin' chiquita?"

The silly nickname made her smile. He was always coming up with new ones. "I'm sorry, Murdock, guess I'm just a little bit preoccupied today."

"Come on, honeybun, spill the beans, tell ol' Murdock your troubles. You've been pushin' that one poor lil' French fry around for the last five minutes, somethin's disturbin' you. So why not tell the Reigning King of the Disturbed your problems?" He gazed intently at her with his big eyes open wide, determined to wait for her to tell her story.

"OK, Murdock, OK! You win." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Just a little relationship trouble, that's all. This guy that I was seeing, that I thought might be kind of special..."

"Who, you mean Robert, the one you mentioned a while back?"

"Yeah, Robert. Well, I was wrong. He turned out to be a real jerk. Typical chauvinistic type. He just couldn't deal with the fact that right now, my work comes first. That I can't always come running whenever he wants me to be available for him. That I might be out of town for a few days every now and then for my job...or with the team. Same old story, I guess."

"Yes, yes, I see..." Murdock said pensively, nodding his head slowly. Then he launched into his best psychiatrist routine. "Troubles of a romantic nature...hmmm...I understand completely...yes, it's a classic case, I've seen it many times before, many times."

"So then tell me doctor, is there a cure? Can you possibly help me?" Amy asked plaintively, playing along with this new game.

"A cure, well, I can't promise you a cure, Miss Allen, no. But I do believe some intensive analysis sessions and group therapy should definitely help you deal with this...this 'love-fixation' of yours. Yes, definitely, but it won't be easy, no, certainly not." He paused, shooting her a devilish look and switching back to his "normal" voice. "'Course, I've always found a box of oreos, some of that funky blue Kool-Aid, and a few hours of Bugs Bunny on the tube will do all right in a pinch."

Amy laughed in spite of herself. Suddenly, the whole thing did seem rather silly.

"Seriously, Amy, you shouldn't let yourself go all gloomy over a guy like that--he's not worth it, really! Someday, you're gonna find someone who appreciates you for bein' just who you are, and who wouldn't want you to change. I'm absolutely sure of it."

Those were surprisingly sane words, coming from Murdock, Amy thought. And they made a lot of sense. "I know, Murdock, you're right. Sometimes, I guess you just need someone to remind you of what you already know." She reached across the table to give his hand a soft squeeze. "Thanks."

Something happened in that moment that neither of them had been quite prepared for. Amy felt it like a jolt of electricity, a sudden realization of just how close the two of them had become in the past few months. She caught Murdock's startled reaction to her unexpected touch: she saw it in his eyes and in the slight flush that came to his cheeks, and then in his quick attempt to try to cover it up. She realized that somewhere along the way he must have started to fall for her, and she felt foolish that she hadn't noticed it before or hadn't expected it, what with all the time they'd been spending together. But what was surprising her even more was that she wasn't sure that she hadn't started to feel the same way herself.

"Aw, shucks, it weren't nuttin', ma'am," Murdock said in a cowboy drawl, trying to make light of the situation. He jumped up and started searching all around underneath their table. "Hey, have you seen Billy around? I promised him some of my cheeseburger..."

The next week the team was off on a case in South America, trying to locate some drug manufacturers that were holding hostage a group of Peace Corps workers that had apparently accidentally stumbled on their operation. The mission had offered Murdock and Amy a fair amount of time off together, trying to locate the drug lords' main manufacturing facilities from the air as no one knew exactly where they were located.

Amy had been thinking a lot about Murdock since her last visit to the hospital, trying to sort out her feelings and figure out what she should do about them. From a rational standpoint she knew she shouldn't get involved with him. First off, what type of stable relationship could she have with someone who was committed to a mental institution, someone who thrived on his insanity, whether real or manufactured? But then, she countered, I hadn't exactly been thinking rationally when I decided to risk my life tagging along with the A-Team, and now I'm having the time of my life. So logic and reason weren't going to help her much this time.

"See anything down there, little darlin'?"

"Huh? Oh...no, no nothing yet, Murdock."

"Mmm, me neither. Think we'll change course a bit, try headin' by that valley over there."

"Sure, sounds good."

Their normal easy banter had been a little strained those past few days, Amy noted to herself. Murdock had seemed a little less bouncy than usual; Amy guessed she wasn't the only one with a lot on her mind lately. Sitting there in the co-pilot's seat, supposedly watching for any unusual activity or half-hidden buildings, she kept getting distracted and glancing over at Murdock, wondering if he was thinking about her too, trying to figure out the strange attraction she felt towards him. Maybe he didn't have Face's easy good looks, and sometimes he seemed as awkward as teenage kid, still ill at ease with his lanky frame. But she supposed that those were some of the things she found rather endearing about him. He never tried to put on any kind of act to try to impress anyone (unless, of course, his insanity was all an act ), he just did his own thing. If someone didn't like it, that was their problem. Being an independent type herself who had taken plenty of flak as a kid for her tom-boy ways, Amy respected and had to admire that about him.

She also had to admit that there was something about him she found rather sexy, if in an off-beat sort-of way. For one thing, he had the most expressive, big brown eyes she thought she had ever seen, always alert and darting from one thing to another, or intensely focused and unblinking. Most of the times his eyes were bright with a glow of childlike joy and innocence. On some occasions, though, she saw them darken and betray some hidden sadness or pain, which Amy could only guess had something to do with what drove his need to escape into a fantasy world existence. Whenever she saw that look in his eyes she wanted to reach out and comfort him, make him feel better the way he always comforted her...but of course, he always managed to push back whatever thought was causing the sadness before she could say or do anything.

He had a sweet, warm smile that would light up his entire face and soften his features whenever it appeared, making him appear years younger. And whatever awkwardness he exhibited in his manner while on the ground disappeared as soon as he got behind the controls of a plane or a chopper, where he was confident and in complete control; nothing seemed to thrill him more than getting in some air-time, especially if it involved a little reckless combat.

It was these quirky little things about Murdock that Amy realized now had started to work their way into her heart when she had not been paying close attention. But what was she going to do about it now, Amy asked herself, what could she do? Concentrate on the job, Allen, that's what you need to do, she reminded herself, resolving nothing except to come to some decision about the situation sometime hopefully sooner than later...

The mission had gone well in the end, if not exactly as planned, but that was nothing new. Amy was driving Murdock back to the V.A. from the airport a few days later, still feeling slightly buzzed from the jazz after their rather rushed departure from the tropics. They were almost all the way there when Amy suddenly remembered the small gift she had picked up for Murdock before they had left, and she was eager to see his reaction to it.

"Hey Murdock, you mind a short detour? I have a little surprise for you. I was gonna bring it along on this trip, but I forgot and left it behind at my house."

"A surprise? What is it? What's it for?" Murdock sat up eagerly. He sounded excited, if a little hesitant. "It ain't my birthday or Christmas or nothin', unless I've lost a month or two somewhere, wouldn't be the first time..."

"No special reason, really. And if I told you what it was it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" she teased. "It's just something silly, really, no big deal. All right?"

"Well...yeah, sure, honey..." He had definitely been caught off guard and seemed at a rare loss for words or nonsensical comeback.

They reached Amy's place a short while later. "Come on in," she said, picking up the mail she'd accumulated in her absence and tossing it on the table in the living room. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Okey-dokey," Murdock replied, settling down on her sofa while Amy disappeared into another room. A few seconds later she came back out, a big grin on her face, her arms behind her trying to hide the rather bulky present. Murdock gave her a puzzled look, which turned into momentary shock and then quickly to absolute delight when she held out the big, white teddy bear. It looked just like his poor old Bogey that had gotten blown to bits just a couple weeks back in Zulabwe.

"Oh Amy..." was all he could say. He appeared about ready to cry as he leapt to his feet and took the bear from her, looking him over carefully from head to toe.

"He's beautiful! He looks just like...just like Bogey. Does he have a name yet?"

"Well, no, not really. But...I don't know, I thought he looked kinda like a 'Bruno' to me--at least, that's what I would call him."

"Bruno..." Murdock considered it carefully. "Yeah, Bruno, like that old pro-wrestler, Bruno Samartino? I like it!"

He finally broke out of his rapture over the bear to gaze up at Amy, his face still flushed with joy and barely contained emotions. Amy was feeling quite warm and happy herself. It pleased her tremendously to see that the bear delighted him so much.

"I...I don't know what to say..." he stammered. He hesitated momentarily, looking back and forth between Bruno and Amy, then he put Bruno down on the table and threw his arms around Amy in a big bear hug. "That was so sweet of you, honey pie. Thank you so much!"

"Oh, you're welcome, Murdock, it was no big deal." She put her arms around him, holding him close to her, noting the faint scent of leather from his jacket and the comforting, warm feeling of his body close to hers. "I just wanted to make you happy."

"You sure did darlin'," he said. "You sure did."

They were holding the embrace too long for it to stay just a friendly hug, Amy knew, but she was feeling too good at that moment to care. Without even fully realizing she was doing it, she started slowly moving her hand along his back in a soft, caressing motion. She felt him tense slightly in response to the gentle movement. He pulled back a bit from her, and they stood together momentarily frozen in place, looking intently into each others eyes. Amy felt like she could get lost in those eyes, which seemed to be probing her mind, her soul, so deeply, searching for...something. Some sign perhaps, some definite signal that what was happening was what she wanted. It was.

He tilted his head slightly, and tentatively brought up a hand to brush away a strand of her hair that had fallen across her face. The touch left her skin tingling. She pulled him back close to her, and this time they met with a kiss that melted away any hesitancy that she was feeling, and she could feel the tenseness flowing out of Murdock as well.

"You realize, of course, that we shouldn't be doing this," Murdock said after the kiss, his voice sounding slightly hoarse and deeper than usual.

"Of course," Amy responded, kissing him again, sliding one hand up along the back of his neck. "Fraternizing with another team member is bad business."

"Yes, very bad." Murdock agreed. It didn't stop him from going for another kiss, this one longer and more passionate than the first two. Amy's mind was spinning almost as fast as her pulse was racing, and she thought she was growing almost light-headed. "So, what are we going to do about it?" he asked, giving her a crooked smile.

"Well...I have an idea," she purred, suddenly grabbing Murdock by the hand and pulling him down onto the sofa with her, and they broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Mmm, good idea definitely...Oh wait--"

"What?"

Murdock reached up to take the teddy-bear off of the table and put him down on the floor, facing away from them. "Sorry, Bruno, this isn't somethin' for such young impressionable eyes."

Amy drew her thoughts away from the pleasant memory to the present and she felt sadness settle onto her heart again. She hated the idea of leaving Murdock, especially now that they were becoming closer to each other than ever. Murdock never let all of his defenses down, but little by little she felt she was beginning to gain his trust and acceptance into his private world. The more time they spent together, the more he seemed to drop his eccentricities and let her get to know the real person behind them, someone who was warm and gentle and sensitive--too sensitive, she realized now, to have been able to accept and deal with the horrors that he must have encountered during the war. If she left now she might never get the chance to get that close to him again...more than that, she feared her it might drive Murdock deeper into his protective shell of madness, to have let someone in so far only to have her turn around and leave him.

But, she reminded herself, she had to keep in mind her priorities, and take advantage of the opportunities life presented to her while she could. Murdock had told her that he would never try to interfere with her commitment to her work.

She heard him let out a sigh. "You know those long-distance relationships never work out, no one is ever really happy and everyone just ends up gettin' hurt in the end."

"I know...Maybe, Murdock, maybe we don't have to end anything definitely though. Like Hannibal said, the future doesn't have to be set in stone. Maybe we could just sort of leave things...open. No promises, no commitments. We can just wait and see what happens. Sort of the way we've played it all along, really."

"Mmm, yeah, I guess. Look, let's forget about the whole thing a little while longer, OK sweet-tart? I can always claim temporary amnesia. There's lot's more fun things we can do than mope around all night..."

She smiled, recognizing that tone of voice. "Oh really? Do tell, what might they be?"

"Well, instead of tellin' you how 'bout I show you one or two instead..."

* * *

"This is the final boarding call for Pan Am flight 4955 to Jakarta. All remaining passengers holding tickets please proceed to Boarding Gate 15."

"Well I guess you'd better get goin'. Wouldn't want you missin' your flight now, would we?"

"Nope, I guess not." Amy stretched her dully aching arms, throwing her carry-on bag over her shoulder. Looking up at Murdock and noting the dark circles under his eyes, she figured she wasn't the only one feeling dead tired. Last night the Team had thrown her a final big blowout, Face providing--or rather scamming--an elegantly catered meal from one of the finest new restaurants in L.A. Amy and Murdock had put on their best faces the whole evening; as far as they could tell, none of the others had ever suspected them of anything, and they weren't about to reveal their secret now. Afterwards, they hadn't wanted to waste any of their remaining time together with anything as mundane as sleep.

"All right, now, you take care of yourself, you hear hot-stuff? And you make sure to write, keep me up to date on all your big adventures and the like."

"I will Murdock, I promise."

"Uh-uh, no promises, remember? Just this--" he learned forward for one final kiss, then they held each other tightly. Amy rested her head on his shoulder, dreading the moment of letting go.

"I'm really going to miss you Murdock."

"Gonna miss you too, sugar. You mean a lot to me, you really do. I want you to know that. I...I love you, Amy."

The words came so softly she almost didn't think she had heard him right. She was totally caught unprepared.

Murdock broke away from her before she had a chance to say anything. "Well, see you around, OK kiddo?" He gave her the best smile he could muster. "Good-bye, Amy."

"Good-bye, Murdock, wait--"

She didn't get a chance to finish, as he had already turned away and started walking quickly away. She watched him leave, feeling completely lost and thoroughly confused. But then he disappeared into the crowd and she remembered that her flight was about to leave. Forcing herself to turn away, she headed towards the agent at the gate, absent-mindedly fishing out her ticket.

"Thank you. Have an enjoyable flight," the airline agent said.

For some reason, Amy just didn't think that was a possibility.

#  Part Two  


Murdock was tired. His whole body felt numb from emotional exhaustion and he desperately needed some sleep. But he refused to let go of the seemingly lifeless hand of his friend and give up his bedside vigil.

"Come on you big ol' angry mudsucker, don't you try to give up on me now," he coaxed, drawing forth a bit more energy from some last hidden reserve. "Who am I gonna pick on and annoy with all my crazy talk if you're not around, huh? And what're all those kids down at the center gonna do without you? And who's gonna take care of your van? You know that big hunk of metal would miss you somethin' awful...we'd all miss you, B.A.."

It all seemed so damn unfair. Why did this have to happen, and happen now, of all times, when things were finally looking up for all of them? But then again, he thought bitterly, when was the last time life had been really fair anyway? It did seem, though, that things were getting worse lately, as if some cosmic force was out to get the A-Team, determined to take them out one by one. Just a few months back Murdock had been in the same exact position, praying desperately for one of his friends to pull through, only that time Face had been the one lying in the hospital bed, clinging to life. The memory still made him cringe with guilt. None of the others ever tried to blame him for what happened that night at the restaurant, when that gunman had shot Face in their ill-planned attempt to disarm the man. But he couldn't help but feel responsible. If Face hadn't pulled through, the pain and guilt probably would have sent him right back to the V.A. hospital. And of course there had been Hannibal's disappearance and near death in Hong Kong right before that...the idea of the Colonel not being around anymore had been unimaginable, too terrible to even begin to consider.

Shaking off that gloomy train of thought, Murdock tried to draw back his concentration to the situation at hand. Frankie, Face and Hannibal had been in Hawaii, filming location shots for Hannibal's return to the big screen as the Aquamaniac. Murdock had called them as soon as he had reached the hospital; they would be here soon, he knew. And then he could rest. But not until then.

The past year had been a crazy one, all right. Even by Murdock's standards they qualified for that esteemed title. What with Stockwell tricking them into that mission in Spain; the trial; the desperate rescue. Then the months running off doing Stockwell's dirty little errands. The general had played them all so smoothly, so expertly, always laying out the casual threats and ultimatums if they started to resist a little too much under his control.

And yet, in the end, he had remained good to his word about getting the team their pardon, and had done so a lot sooner than they had expected. Why, shortly after the Sarnoff case, he had let them go free when he could have strung them along virtually indefinitely with promises of eventual absolution was something Murdock didn't understand. Maybe Stockwell realized he could only push them around so long before they really fought back. Face had already been ready to run once. Or maybe Stockwell had earned his quota of brownie points from the person he reported to, whoever that was. But Murdock knew better then to try to second guess the motives of the CIA and those who had been indoctrinated in their ways and their methods.

At the appropriate time Stockwell had produced the magic documents needed to clear the team of their involvement in the murder of Colonel Morrison--most importantly, a signed confession from Josh Curtis admitting that he had killed Morrison in a dispute over Curtis's gun-running operation. How and when Stockwell had gotten this confession from Curtis, whether it was real or an expert forgery, Murdock didn't know and didn't even really care at that point. He was just thankful to be done with the whole operation and to see his friends finally earn their much overdue reprieve from life on the run.

And, Murdock had to grudgingly admit, Stockwell had done something for him as well, a favor that he had no obligation to grant considering Murdock had not officially been involved in Stockwell's "agreement" with the others. But Stockwell had arranged for Murdock to get his pilot's license back, no questions asked, which wouldn't have been that easy otherwise, what with over 12 years in a mental institution on his record. So, as much as he hated to say it, he owed the shady general something.

"Hey B.A., want me to tell you a story? I could read to you, I got the latest issue of Batman here, the Joker's givin' him a hard time again. And I'll do all the different voices, OK? Hey maybe if I can bug you enough and get enough of those angry mudsuckin' juices of yours boilin' you'll want to pull out of this just so you can strangle me, right buddy?" Murdock was trying hard to joke around and sound cheerful if B.A. could somehow hear him, but he noticed more than a tinge of hysteria in his voice, which worried him. C'mon, Murdock, keep it together, don't let it slip, not now...

Shortly after the pardon had gone through, they had all returned to L.A. to try to return to their "normal" lives. There was too much media attention around them yet to return to the work they all loved the best--namely, taking on bad guys big and small, bashing heads, running scams, et cetera. So, for a while, they pursued their secondary interests. Hannibal set up some stunt pilot work for Murdock on the movie lots, which had been pretty fun. And the Colonel was keeping Face and Frankie busy scamming and doing special effects, respectively, for his new film "The Aquamaniac Strikes Back."

B.A. had gone back to the old youth center he used to love to help out at so much in the past. He used his newfound fame to try to draw attention--and contributions--to the center and the kids. and they had been ecstatic to have their favorite big guy back.

The neighborhood the center was in had never been a good one, but it seemed to have gotten worse in B.A.'s absence, more so than he had been prepared for dealing with. Murdock had received the call around ten o'clock that evening from Tony, a young street kid the guys all had gotten to know, a kid who occasionally slept at the center and that B.A. had developed a special interest in helping. Tony had gone to the center that night only to find B.A. lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding from two gunshot wounds. The building appeared to have been the scene of an attempted burglary, as some of the new electronic equipment and computers they had recently acquired were missing. B.A. must have been working late that evening, trying to set up the stuff for the kids, when the robbers came in and caught him off guard. Tony had called an ambulance and had B.A. rushed to the hospital, and B.A. was already in surgery by the time Murdock had gotten there.

That was eight-no, nearly ten hours ago, Murdock thought. And now B.A. laid there, his condition stabilized but he was still out cold, no one sure yet that he would pull through. They didn't know how long he had been lying there wounded at the shelter before Tony had found him, but he had lost a lot of blood and dangerously close to dying. Whether he would regain consciousness anytime soon or slip into a comatose state was the question to be answered now.

Wait, to be or not to be, that was the question, Murdock thought dreamily. And the answer was forty-two, everyone in the universe knew that! Yes indeed, even Billy. Where was Billy anyway...off looking for a snack somewhere probably, hospital food really wasn't to his liking...

STOP IT! Murdock chastised himself. It was so tempting, so easy, at a time like this, to start to let reality slip away, to fall back into the safety of one of his fantasy worlds. But he couldn't allow himself that escape anymore, not now especially, when his friend needed him to be here, completely here.

The doctors at the V.A. had argued endlessly over whether he was really crazy or just an expert faker. In a way, Murdock supposed, he had been both. He knew all along the difference between reality and fantasy, and the truly insane never did. Murdock just preferred dealing with the hallucinations and delusions he created to dealing with the problems of the real world, which were always so much more complicated. He had learned the trick of escaping into imaginary realms at an early age to avoid dealing with the difficulties and pain in life; by the time he was through with 'Nam he had little desire left to stray outside of his private fantasy world.

It had taken a long time, and a lot of incentive, to finally break free of that reliance on his crazy ways, at least free enough to get out of the V.A. hospital when he had to. Leaving had been a necessity as far as he was concerned, once the guys all moved to Virginia. Couldn't lave them off on their own, they'd never make it without me, he only half-joked to himself. But things had been changing, his perceptions of the world shifting, for quite a while before then...maybe it had been that mission with Fullbright, going back to Vietnam, that had shook him up enough to reconsider what he was doing with his life--or rather, not doing with it. A lot of painful memories forced down too long had come back, refusing to be ignored anymore...He had faced death in their wild escape and somehow managed to evade it once again, but it had been a terrifying experience nevertheless. Once he got back home nothing had really been quite the same again.

Murdock heard some footsteps approaching the room, two female voices that sounded slightly raised in argument.

"...really shouldn't allow this as it's not visiting time yet, and Mr. Baracus already has one visitor who insisted on staying there with him all night. This is all highly irregular..."

"Just give me a minute, Nurse Reily, please. This is very important." That voice sounded awfully familiar, Murdock thought, but in his fatigue he couldn't quite place it...

...until he saw her walk into the room. His jaw dropped in shock. "Amy...?!"

"Murdock!"

He couldn't believe he wasn't hallucinating this sight, especially in his current condition. He stumbled to his feet, not really sure how to react, but she solved his dilemma by rushing forward to give him a big hug. It had been over three years since he had last seen her, yet holding her still felt as good as he remembered. He felt his exhaustion fade away along with some of his anxiety, only to be replaced by utter amazement.

"What are you...when...I, I mean, how did you know?" His already frazzled brain was working overtime trying to comprehend what was happening.

"It was on the news today already, when I got up this morning. About the shooting, that he was at the hospital. I rushed over here as fast as I could. I...I didn't know...how is he?" She walked over to B.A., touching his arm lightly.

"OK. Well, maybe. It's just a waiting game now, really. They had him in surgery for a few hours, supposedly that went fine. But we won't know for sure until he comes around...if he comes around."

"God..." Amy muttered, staring down at B.A., her eyes filled with concern. "It's so terrible. How could this happen? It just doesn't seen fair."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Murdock collapsed back down into his chair by B.A.'s side.

"Where's Face and Hannibal?"

"On their way. They were out of town. They'll be here...sometime soon."

"Oh." Amy turned away from B.A. momentarily to give Murdock a worried look. "Murdock, you look terrible. Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

"No," he admitted. Thanks kiddo, great to know I'm making such a good impression after all this time. "I'm waitin' till they get here, then maybe I'll grab a nap or something."

He closed his eyes for a moment to try to call up some more energy, as the buzz he'd gotten from Amy's initial arrival was already fading away. He heard a soft metal scraping, then felt the warm touch of her hand on his shoulder. He looked across to see Amy had pulled over a chair to sit next to him by B.A.'s bed.

"Well, then, mind if I wait with you?" She managed a small smile, a smile that brought back so many memories, all flooding his mind at once. He felt a flicker of the inner peace that had been missing for so long from his life, missing since...

"No, I mean, 'course not. B.A. needs as many of his friends now as possible." He paused. "And...and it's good seein' you again, babe."

The smile grew slightly. "It's good to see you again too, Murdock. I just...well, I just wish it was under different circumstances."

"Mm hmm, me too."

They sat quietly for a while, joined in a silent vigil. After a few minutes Amy reached forward to take B.A.'s hand, wrapping her fingers tightly around those of the large man. She started murmuring soft words of encouragement to B.A. just as Murdock had been doing all night. She always had been special, Murdock thought fondly, always had been one of them, knowing when she was needed. Murdock allowed himself to relax slightly, and then he felt Amy's hand move slowly from his shoulder across his back, pulling him slightly closer to her. It was an invitation of comfort that he remembered well and couldn't resist, and he rested his head lightly on her shoulder. He took a deep breath and let himself finally drift away, her voice echoing sweetly in his ears, feeling confident now that somehow, things were going to be all right...

* * *

Murdock awoke sometime later that morning to the sound of an approaching commotion.

"Cavalry must be a comin'." Murdock stretched out and shook himself completely awake, though he certainly didn't feel rested. "How's the big guy doin'?" he asked, looking at B.A. and then Amy.

"No change, I guess." He saw Amy looked as emotionally drained now as he knew he felt. "Some nurses and a doctor came by earlier, took some notes, and tried to kick me-us-out. I told them to go to hell."

"Good girl." Murdock turned back to B.A.. "Hey mudsucker, here comes the rest of the gang. We're all gonna be here for ya, just like I told you."

The door opened and in came Hannibal, Frankie, and Face, along with the head nurse that Face was doggedly trying to placate.

"Colonel--" Murdock embraced Hannibal. "Face, Frankie, boy is it good to see you guys."

"Captain." Hannibal had his typical cool intact, although his concern for B.A. clearly showed. He definitely was caught off-guard when he spied Amy at B.A.'s bedside. "Allen? Is that you kid?"

"Hello Hannibal. Yes, I heard this morning and had to come to see if I could help. Hi Face."

"Hey Amy!" Face gave her a surprised smile.

"I can't allow this many visitors in here, absolutely not!" The nurse glared at them, hands on her hips.

"Hannibal, I'll take care of this," Face whispered to the Colonel, then he turned his attention back to the angry nurse and put on his smoothest delivery. "Please, Nurse Reily, believe me I understand and we certainly don't want to override your authority..." his voice trailed off as he eased the nurse out of the room and down the hallway.

"I guess you've heard the latest, Colonel," Murdock asked.

"Um hmm, 'no change, just wait and let him rest' they said." Hannibal approached the Sergeant. "He doesn't look good. I don't like it. But if there's one guy I know who doesn't give in easily it's B.A.."

Frankie joined Hannibal, shaking his head. "Damn punks, ain't got no respect for life no more, no morals. Not if they can do somethin' like this. Boy, if I ever get my hands on whoever's responsible..."

"Take it easy, Frankie, there'll be time enough for that later." Hannibal turned back to Amy and Murdock. "You two look like you need a good rest. We'll take over for a while."

"Yeah, OK Hannibal," Murdock replied, still a bit reluctant to leave. "I'll be back soon."

"Me too," Amy added. They both gave B.A. a final look before walking out.

"Who's the lovely lady with Madman, Johnny?" Frankie asked after they left.

"An old associate, Frankie. She's a very special lovely lady, and a smart one too, so watch out."

"Oooh, gotcha."

* * *

The cup of coffee Murdock was working on had started to kick into effect, and he felt his senses starting to come back to life. Namely, he was becoming more fully aware of Amy's presence. Earlier that morning he had been sure it was all a crazy stress-induced dream. But now, sitting across from her in the small restaurant near the hospital, it finally sunk in on him that she really was there.

He found himself studying her face intently, checking off every detail and feature against his memory of her appearance. He noted very few changes, a slightly different haircut, a new shade of lipstick, but nothing major. She still looked as wonderful as he remembered. In her eyes he could see her self-confidence and independence had grown in her years abroad, not that she'd ever lacked in either quality before.

"What, Murdock?"

"Huh?"

"What? What is it? You sort of faded out on me there."

"Oh, nothin', sugarpuss, sorry. I just...so what've you been doin' all this time? When did you get back to L.A.?"

"Not too long ago, actually. Around the beginning of this year. I'd been in Europe for a while, and Africa before then...and Japan before that...and well, after a couple of years living in hotel rooms, never staying in the same place for more than a few weeks, I was getting pretty homesick. And tired. So I decided it was time to head back to the States. I figure I've paid my dues to my profession."

"Sounds like it all right."

"Yeah, but what about you guys? I mean, my God, I heard about the trial, and the escape--how did you ever pull that one off?"

"Oh, I'll have to tell you about it sometime. Actually, it was a real--"

"Don't say it--piece of cake? Not likely, Murdock."

He gave her an innocent look. She laughed. "Yeah well so I was real worried about you all. I tried calling you at the hospital after the things had died down, but they said you'd been released and had just disappeared. No one could tell me anything!"

"I kind of had to relocate quickly, you know, before the powers that be at the V.A. came to their senses and realized what a mistake they made lettin' me out and all."

"But what happened? The full pardon coming out of nowhere--what did you guys do? How did you pull it all off?"

"It's a long, long, story." He finished off his coffee. "And I'll tell you all of it...but later, OK?" The last thing he wanted to think about right now was Stockwell.

"Sure Murdock, no problem. I'm sorry if I'm pushing. I know this isn't really the time for it."

The food they ordered arrived. Murdock didn't really have any appetite but he knew he should try to eat something. He hoped he hadn't snapped at Amy too strongly. "Its OK, babe, I know you're just bein' you. Enquirin' minds need to know and all that stuff, right?" He shot her a grin which she bounced right back.

"Right. So anyway, I'd been meaning to get back in touch with you guys ever since the pardon, but it seemed like the media was swarming around you all so much already, not giving you any peace, I figured...well, the last thing you probably needed was another reporter hanging around..." She shrugged.

"But you know you're not just another reporter to us, Amy. Not...not to me at least." He noticed a brief flush come to her cheeks, and he hoped he hadn't pushed things too much by making the remark.

"I know Murdock. But still...well, I just thought I should wait a bit, till the dust settled. And besides, I had something I was working on, something very important to me, that I wanted to finish first."

"Oh?"

"Mm hmm. I'll tell you all about it...but later," she replied slightly teasingly. "It's almost done. But then I heard about B.A., and I couldn't stay away any longer. I just had the feeling that I was needed. That I had to come."

"You were needed Amy, you helped a lot this morning. And you'll be needed later too."

"I'll be there."

* * *

They returned to the hospital a short while later to find no change in B.A.'s condition. Face had persuaded the nurse to allow two of them to stay with B.A. at all times, so Amy and Murdock joined Frankie in the waiting room until Face and Hannibal needed a break. The hours passed slowly and no one said much of anything to each other, they were all too preoccupied with thoughts of and silent prayers for B.A.. Amy flipped through the pile of old magazines and dozed off fitfully for a while. Murdock absentmindedly ran through the channels on the television, but not even the wild antics of the Road Runner could raise his spirits much. Later he and Frankie took over the watch , but as the evening approached B.A. remained unconscious.

"B.A.'s gonna be all right, isn't he, Murdock?" Frankie asked nervously. "I mean, somethin' like this can't just---he'll pull through won't he?"

"Of course he will, Frankie. Of course. He's as tough as they come. The big guy's so full of holes already, two more ain't gonna slow him down none. You'll see." Murdock just wished he was as convinced of that fact as he was trying to sound to Frankie.

Amy and Hannibal took over later that night, and Murdock drifted into an uneasy sleep that was all too often filled with unsettling dreams of hospital rooms and disturbing visions from the past.

* * *

"Murdock...Murdock..."

Someone was calling his name insistently...it took him a minute to realize that the voice wasn't part of a dream and was actually Amy trying to wake him up.

"Huh? Wha-what happened?" He momentarily feared for the worst until he saw the cheerful expression on her face.

"B.A. just came to a few minutes ago, Frankie and Face were in there with him. Looks like he's going to be just fine," she said with a reassuring smile. "We're all allowed to see him a for a few minutes now."

"Oh, great! Whew!" Murdock let out a huge sigh of relief. "Come on, let's go. I know he won't be content unless he gets the chance to insult me at least once today."

They hurried over to join the others in B.A.'s room. "Hey guys, hey you big mean ol' mudsucker how you doin' buddy!" Murdock rushed to B.A. to give him a big kiss, which B.A. tried as hard as he could in his condition to fight off.

"Aw fool, get away from me!" B.A. grimaced. His roar was a little weaker than usual but other than that he seemed to have his bad attitude intact. "Man, the last thing I need right now is you jibber-jabberin' at me. I'm in enough pain already!"

"B.A., that's not any way to talk to Murdock," Hannibal scolded. "He stayed here all last night with you to make sure you'd pull through OK."

"No wonder my ears are ringin'. He must've been babblin' his crazy talk to me the whole time."

"Same old B.A.," Amy said, coming up to join the others around his bed and give him a little kiss. B.A. looked up at her, surprised by her presence.

"Amy Allen, is that you? Been a long time...you're lookin' pretty good, sister."

"Why, thanks B.A.. I gotta say, though, that I've seen you looking better."

B.A. dropped his tough guy act a moment to give her a quick smile. "I'll be all right."

"Well guys, I think we'd do best to leave the Sergeant alone a while to get some rest," Hannibal said after a few minutes. "That's what he needs most of all right now."

"What I need is to get my hands on those two punks who tried to rip off the center, man. Gonna teach them some justice Baracus-style!"

"Later, B.A., you've got to get back on your feet first," Face said. B.A. growled a non-committal agreement.

"We'll all be back first thing tomorrow, big guy," Murdock added.

"Hmph. Just tell that nurse to bring me some milk on the way out. And not no baby glass or nothin', tell her to bring in a quart or two!"

They all said their good-byes to B.A. and headed out down the hallway.

"Sure glad B.A.'s gonna be all right," Frankie said. "I'd really miss havin' him around. Me and him are like real tight now, y'know?"

"We're all tight, Frankie, that's what makes us a team," Hannibal said. "Right Amy?"

"Right Hannibal," Amy said, happy to be back among friends. "We're all a team."

* * *

"Pretty nice place here, Murdock," Amy said approvingly, looking all around. After they'd left the hospital, Murdock had invited her over to check out his new apartment and was quite happy when she had accepted. Now that she was back in he didn't want her to leave, not even for a few hours. "You didn't end up with it through one of Face's scams now, did you?"

"Well...actually..." he chuckled, taking off his jacket and cap and tossing them on a chair, "maybe he did help with some of the arrangements..."

"Mm hmm..." Amy continued her inspection, checking out the kitchen and the living room and then heading towards the bedroom.

Curious when she didn't come back out after a minute, Murdock walked across to the room himself to find she'd kicked off her shoes and had collapsed onto the bed. He laughed at the sight. "Just make yourself at home, why don't you."

"I did, or haven't you noticed?" she raised her head to look at him mockingly. "Come on, you walking zombie, get over here and join me, you look exhausted."

"Can't refuse an order like that, can I?" He sat down on the bed across from her, took off his sneakers and finally laid down. Stretching out and relaxing, he felt like he hadn't slept in years. He laid there quietly for a few moments, trying to clear his head of all the unpleasantness of the last few days, and then he turned to look over at Amy to find her watching him closely. His heart leapt to see her eyes warm with affection that he would never have allowed himself to expect to see, not after all this time.

There was so much he wanted to say to her then, yet he couldn't even imagine where to begin. He'd never known anyone quite like Amy Allen before, hadn't been prepared for the way she would affect his life. Since she had left there had been a few others who had come into his life, but none had lasted for very long. They hadn't been able to get to him the way Amy did. Kelly had come the closest, he supposed, with her innocence and wonderfully trusting, giving nature. She had tried so hard to deal with his craziness and dangerous adventures with the Team, but in the end it hadn't been enough. He could see the strain it was putting on her, and had broken things off before he could hurt her-or both of them-anymore.

With Amy there had never been that tension. They both thrived on the danger and excitement of the jazz. And she never pushed him to change, to be more "normal." She had accepted him just as he was, and that had meant more to him than anything else ever could. But how could he express that to her? How could he explain it all?

"Three years is a long time, Amy," was all he managed to say.

"I know. A lot of things can change in that much time. " She paused, still looking at him intently. "You've changed, Murdock."

"Oh? Is that your professional opinion, doctor?"

"I'm serious Murdock. Look at you, you're out of the V.A., on your own, finally rejoining the rest of us out here in the real world. That's quite a big change, and I know that it must've taken a lot of effort. I'm really proud of you."

"Nah, don't be. Believe me, it's really all an act. I just played straight long enough to fool 'em into lettin' me out when I had to go. I'm just keepin' up this sane act for practice, y'know, till I get bored with it and start bouncin' off the walls again."

"Oh, is that the case..." He could see she wasn't buying that routine one bit. "Well, regardless, I guess that means I can't call you my crazy nut anymore?" she asked with a teasing smile. She moved a little closer to him, slipping an arm around his waist, and looked up at him expectantly.

"Well, I guess it would still be OK...old habits can be rather hard to break." Unable to hold back any longer, he took her in his arms and felt her lips meet his softly.

"Mmm.." he murmured after the kiss. "Never thought I'd get the chance to do that again."

"Never?"

"Well..." He looked away, and ran his fingers through her hair. "You never wrote, never called, after you left. I just figured, you must've moved on to other, better things."

"Other things, yes, for a while. It was what I had to do. But they weren't better things. I wanted to call Murdock, really I did, to talk to you again like we used to, but I just...I thought it might be harder on us both that way. I had to stay focused on my work if I was going to make leaving you guys count for anything. I couldn't let myself get distracted, to dwell on things that I couldn't control. But believe me, I thought about you a lot. A whole lot." He looked and saw her eyes growing slightly moist, and he pulled her as tightly to him as he could, eager to make any sadness she was feeling go away.

"I believe you princess. I believe you. I'm just glad you're back. Real glad."

#  Epilogue  


Amy woke up late, the morning sun sending bright streams of light across her bedroom. She reached over, still only partially conscious, and was slightly startled when she found no one there next to her. She sat up, momentarily confused, but then relaxed when she heard some soft movement in another room, caught the aroma of fresh coffee in the air. Murdock must have gotten up early, eager since B.A. was getting out of the hospital that day. And, she thought, he probably wanted to finish going over the "special project" that she'd been working on so hard since her return to L.A.

She hadn't known what to expect when she had met up with Murdock again. Three years of life on the road hadn't left her many opportunities for serious romantic pursuits, but she didn't know whether she'd still feel the same way she used to. Whether he would. Yet they'd fallen so quickly back into their old, easy familiarity, that she sometimes had a hard time believing they'd been apart for so long.

Getting up and throwing on her robe, she headed towards the kitchen and found Murdock sitting at the table, her manuscript closed in front of him. She had spent the past few months putting together the book she'd always "threatened" the guys with publishing. She would respect their wishes on whether they actually would want her to publish it, now or sometime in the future, but she felt she had to write it all down. She owed it to them, after all they had done for her, to write her book and record their history. It was the story of her time as a member of the team, of how she had grown to admire, respect, and love them all. Of how they had changed her, made her appreciate life more fully. And how a certain more-than-slightly eccentric pilot had won her heart.

Murdock was staring down at the table, chin resting on his hands, apparently deeply lost in thought. He didn't even notice her approach until she was right beside him.

"Oh, hey skeeter," he said, still staring off into space.

"Hey you..." she called softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's up? Did you finish it?"

"Yup."

She waited anxiously, nervously, for his reaction, but he said nothing, which frustrated the hell out of her.

"So, come on, tell me Murdock. What did you think?"

He finally looked up from the table and turned to her, and the expression on his face increased her concern.

"Oh God, was it that awful? I thought I just had a little editing work yet to do on it, but if it's that bad maybe I should just scrap the whole thing--"

"Bad? Amy, no, no, no. It wasn't bad. It was...I can't..." he gave her an exasperated look, then just jumped up and grabbed her in one of his hugs. "It was wonderful Amy! Absolutely wonderful! The way you captured everything so perfectly, I couldn't believe it. The guys are all gonna love it."

"You really think so?" she asked, still not completely convinced.

"Of course they will! How could they not love it?" He laughed. "Although I think they may be in for a bit of a surprise. Poor Face, he's gonna want to kill me for sure."

"So...that means you're OK with what I said, the stuff about you, and us? I wasn't sure, I thought maybe you'd think it was too personal."

"No, I didn't mind at all, sweet thing. That's sort of what made it all so special, I...I didn't know, just didn't realize how much you cared about me." He cupped her face gently in his hands and looked down at her, his eyes overflowing with love and appreciation. "Thanks baby. Thanks...for everything."

"Any time, Murdock, any time." Standing there with him, she knew there wasn't going to be anymore "special assignments" in her future. Not unless they involved her four very special friends.

"I guess I can write the final chapter of the book now. Looks like this story has a happy ending after all."


End file.
